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Unicorn pHAT
What's going to protect your beloved Raspberry Pi from an onslaught of rainbow-coloured fusion? That's right, it's Unicorn pHAT.Sporting a matrix of 32 ...
What's going to protect your beloved Raspberry Pi from an onslaught of rainbow-coloured fusion? That's right, it's Unicorn pHAT.
Sporting a matrix of 32 (8 x 4) RGB LEDs and powered directly from the Pi, this is the most compact pocket aurora available.
Unicorn pHAT provides a wash of controllable colour that is ideal for mood-lighting, pixel art, persistence of vision effects, status indications, or just blasting colour into your surroundings.
Features
- 32 RGB LEDs (SK6218 - 3.5mm x 3.5mm)
- LED data driven via DMA over PWM
- Unicorn pHAT pinout
- Compatible with Raspberry Pi 3B+, 3, 2, B+, A+, Zero, and Zero W
- Python library
- Female header requires soldering
Software
Unicorn pHAT uses the same Python library as Unicorn HAT, so it's super-easy to use, should automatically detect that you're using the pHAT and includes some examples written specially for Unicorn pHAT.
Our software does not support Raspbian Wheezy.
Notes
- Warning: SK6218 LEDs are bright enough to cause eye pain, do not look at them directly when brightly lit. We recommend using Unicorn pHAT at lower brightness levels.
- Photo-sensitivity warning: flashing, strobing, and patterns of lights may cause epileptic seizures. Always take care and immediately stop using if you feel unwell (dizziness, nausea, affected vision, eye twitching, disorientation).
- Power: Unicorn pHAT works best with a >2A microUSB power supply for your Pi. We recommend the official Raspberry Pi power supply.
- Compatibility (audio): as Unicorn pHAT uses PWM and GPIO18, it will interfere with analogue audio playback (random colour patterns and flickering). HDMI should work just fine! :D
Jargon buster
Plain-language definitions for the technical terms used above.
- HDMI
- HDMI is a common digital video and audio connection used by computers, media players, and many displays. If a display kit has HDMI input, it is usually much easier to test with a single-board computer because it can act like a normal monitor.
- LED
- A light-emitting diode is a small electronic component that lights up when current flows through it in the correct direction. In this kit, LEDs create the flashing effect, so polarity and correct soldering matter for the project to work.
- pHAT
- A smaller add-on board format for Raspberry Pi, similar in idea to a HAT but usually not full-sized. It matters because pHAT compatibility can affect how neatly a board stacks or fits into a Raspberry Pi project.
- PWM
- Pulse Width Modulation is a way for a digital pin to simulate variable output power by switching on and off very quickly. It matters for controlling things like LED brightness, motor speed, or servo-style signals from a microcontroller pin.
- RGB
- Short for red, green and blue, usually referring to an LED that can mix those three colours. It matters because controlling an RGB LED teaches how separate outputs combine to create different colours.
Find this product in
Brands
Raspberry Pi
Related Tutorials
Free guides on learn.littlebird.com.au
